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As the old footbridge at Reading Station shuts work begins on the new one Credit: Kate Bunkall

A passenger footbridge linking a multi-storey car park to Reading railway station has been shut. A diversion is in place for the next four weeks while work on building new platforms below continues. A new walkway is expected to open in April.

A passenger footbridge linking a multi-storey car park to Reading railway station has closed today in the latest part of an upgrade to the site costing almost a billion pounds. A new walkway is due to open in a month, with a temporary diversion through a new subway in place for the next four weeks.

Reading Borough Council will maintain the subway, which has a new lighting and digital CCTV system that is linked to the station and police.

The project manager at Network Rail - Graham Denny gave reasons for the closure of the footbridge:

“We have to do this because the current bridge sits in the way of new platforms which have to be finished by April, so it has to be removed. We realise this will be an inconvenience to passengers and are sorry for this; if there was another way of completing the new platforms we would do it.”

The passenger bridge that links Reading railway station to the multi-storey car park will close permanently today. The move will allow work on the new platforms beneath the walkway to be completed.

Over the next four weeks passengers will be able to use a temporary walking route via the newly refurbished subway which opens today. Station managers are advising travellers to allow for an extra 15 minutes to get to their trains.